The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
| Image = Tokyo Drift.jpg | caption = Theatrical poster | Director = Justin Lin | Producer = Neal H. Moritz | Writer = Chris Morgan Gary Scott ThompsonGarry Scott Thompson is credited for the creation of the characters featured in every The Fast and the Furious film after the first. | Cast = Lucas Black Bow Bow Nathalie Kelley Sung Kang Brian Tee | music = Brian Tyler | cinematography = Stephen F. Windon | editor = Kelly Matsumoto Dallas Puett Fred Raskin | Distributors = Universal Pictures |Company = [Relativity Media Original Film Munich Pape Filmproductions | Premiere = June 4, 2006 (Universal City, California) June 15, 2006 (Australia) June 16, 2006 (United States and United Kingdom) | runtime = 104 minutes | rating = | Country = | awards = | language = | budget = $85 millionThe Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift - Box Office Data | Preceded By = 2 Fast 2 Furious | Followed By = Fast & Furious (film) |series = }} The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift is a directed by Justin Lin and the third installment of ''The Fast and the Furious'' film franchise. Tokyo Drift star Lucas Black, Bow Wow, Brian Tee and Sung Kang. Written by Chris Morgan, Tokyo Drift was the first in the franchise with no central narrative or character connection to the previous two films at its forefront and relocates the setting from the United States to Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo Drift is the first of four films in directed by Justin Lin''Los Bandoleros'' was directed and written by Vin Diesel and the first of five films written by Chris Morgan (who would become the franchise's primary screenwriter). The film was released June 4, 2006 and grossed $158.5 million at the .The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift - Box Office Mojo Plot Description When troublemaker Sean Boswell is the choice of going to prison or leaving the United States for Tokyo, Japan, he chooses the latter. On the other side of the world, he inadvertently discovers the world of drift racing, a major phenomena in Japan, when he challenges the "Drift King", Takashi to race and lands in the debt of one of his business partners, Han Seoul-Oh, who is looking for someone outside Takashi's influence to trust. Summary officer stationed in Japan. Upon reaching Tokyo, Sean's father warns him to not to participate in any races or he will be sent back to the United States to prison. Sean awakes the next morning realizing he has been enrolled into a private school in Tokyo. After class at lunch, Sean meets Twinkie, a fellow American, who hustles pre-owned goods to their Japanese classmates. After Shawn notices several automobile related wares Twinkie has, Twinkie introduces Sean to the world of drift racing by bringing him to a drift car park where a race party is going on. Sean soon runs into Takashi, the "Drift King" of Tokyo, and his close friend Han, who was born and raised in America. Sean is seen by Takashi talking to Neela, Takashi's girlfriend, and when Takashi tells him to back down, Sean challenges him to a race using Han's car, a Nissan Silvia. Takashi wins with his Nissan 350Z, and Han's car is destroyed by Sean's inexperience with drift racing, so Han tells Sean that he is not to leave Tokyo and must work for him to repay the car. Embarrassed from the race, Sean realizes he has to. He soon learns that Han is involved in a business partnership with Takashi. Han becomes Sean's friend, and takes him under his wing, teaching him how to drift, and providing him with some financial support. Sean slowly builds a reputation in the drift scene, slowly improving and eventually beating one of Takeshi's friends, Morimoto, who fumed in frustration after losing to Sean in his 350Z. Sean continues his training and befriends Neela, who is also Sean's classmate. She reveals that she, like Sean, was also considered an "outsider" once, not being native to Japan. She explains that she and Takashi grew up together after her mother died. However, after seeing Sean with Neela and learning of their time spent together, Takashi beats him and warns him to stay away from her. Angry after seeing Sean's bruises, Neela angrily leaves Takashi, to be with Sean. Takashi's uncle, Kamata, a high ranking , told him that there is a discrepancy in the account books, and that cash flow was not right. Kamata then tells Takashi that Han must have been . One night Takashi confronts Han and his group with this discrepancy, and Han, Sean, and Neela flee before Takashi threatens them with a gun. Twinkie sneaks to the back to close the shutter doors, allowing a diversion for Sean and Neela to get into Sean's car and Han to get into his, as they escape. A car chase ensues through the Tokyo streets, with Takashi chasing Han, and Morimoto chasing Sean. Morimoto tries to wreck Sean, but a car comes at him in his lane and he attempts to dodge to the next lane but results in colliding with another, presumably killing Morimoto. Takashi, seeing Morimoto's car in a massive car pile up, grieves his friend and leaves him behind as he catches up to Sean. He too tries to wreck Sean but is unsuccessful after Han slows down and allows Sean to take the lead, allowing Han to deal with Takashi. The chase leads onto downtown Tokyo, where Sean was alerted by Neela he was about to run into a crowd. Sean immediately horns to the crowd, signalling them to move. In the commotion he turns, with Takashi and Han following suit. Soon Takashi shoots at Han throughout the chase, with Han maneuvering to avoid getting shot. Han manages to knock Takashi to spin him out, but drives across a junction where he t-boned by a Mercedes, causing Han's car to flip over. The car begins to leak gasoline from the crash, while Han is unable to move from his injuries sustained. Just then Sean notices and he too gets collided at his car's rear by a truck. Sean and Neela leave the car and as they finally catch up to Han's wreckage, the gasoline leaked from the car reaches a nearby fire, triggering an explosion which also ruptures the nitrous resulting in a bigger explosion and killing Han. Devastated, Neela pulls Sean away as they leave via subway. Sean and Neela go back to Sean's father's house, and Takashi comes to take Neela and threatens Sean with a gun, but Sean's father appears and does likewise to Takashi with his own gun. Neela voluntarily goes away with Takashi to prevent further mishap, along with Takashi taunting Sean that he will deal with Sean away from Sean's father. Sean's father, knowing the situation, immediately berates Sean and tells him that he will be dispatched back to the US, but Sean tries to reason. Sean's father relents after Sean said that he had caused the matter and it was only right he fixed it back. The next day, Twinkie meets up with Sean and asks what the plan was, which Sean telling Twinkie. Knowing the situation, Twinkie decides to aid Sean financially by providing cash for the returning of the laundered money. Sean attempts to make amends by heading to the Yakusa hideout and appealing to Kamata, returning the money Han stole, also offering to an "honor race", a duel where whoever loses is to be exiled from town. Kamata agrees, and sets the race location. It is on a that Takashi has the advantage on, since he's supposedly the only one to ever make it down to the bottom in one piece. Sean, Twinkie and Han's crew return to their safe house to find it under police investigation and everything had been confiscated, including any remaining cars. However, the wreck of the Silvia Sean first used to duel Takashi was left, and the engine was still intact. They take it, and Sean's father fixes them up with his old Ford Shelby. Sean then equips the car and modifies it for the race, and after many tests and mods, the car is ready. The race takes place at night atop the mountain pass, with Sean and Takashi ready. As the race progresses, Takashi constantly plays dirty by tackling Sean many times. Sean was able to withstand the hits and manages to swerve Takashi which allowed him to take the lead. Nearing the end of the race, Takashi tries to knock Sean out again, but Sean smartly brakes and Takashi was sent flying down the mountain. Sean wins the race, but from the crash Takashi's 350Z wreck was falling onto the road. Fortunately Sean closely manages to dodge the wreck by drifting. Arriving at the finish, Takashi barely survives, however his loss causes him to suffer a humiliating defeat at the hands of Sean, whom Takashi still considers an "outsider". Kamata tells Sean he is free to go, and Takashi presumably leaves Tokyo. Free from the Yakuza, Neela gets back with Sean. Time passes, Sean is the new Drift King and is hanging out in the underground parking lot from earlier in the film with Neela, now his girlfriend. Twinkie comes up to Sean, saying someone wants to challenge him, which Sean accepts only after finding out the challenger apparently knew Han. Sean takes his new drift car and heads to meet the mystery challenger who is none other than Dominic Toretto. Toretto and Sean hold a brief conversation, with Toretto saying that Han once rode with him and liked muscle cars, the one currently driven by him was won from Han. Sean knew Toretto's reputation and said that the race they have won't be any "10 second race", with Toretto saying he had "nothing but time". Neela counts off the race, the cars take off as both head on for the first straight.}} Cast Principal Cast *Lucas Black as Sean Boswell *Nathalie Kelley as Neela *Bow Wow as Twinkie *Sung Kang as Han Seoul-Oh *Brian Tee as Takashi Supporting Cast *Leonardo Nam as Morimoto *Sonny Chiba as Kamata *Jason Tobin as Earl *Keiko Kitagawa as Reiko *Brian Goodman as Lieutenant Boswell *Zachery Ty Bryan as Clay *Nikki Griffin as Cindy *Lynda Boyd as Sean's Mother Cameos *Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto *Keiichi Tsuchiya as The Fisherman Featured Cars Production Pre-production Neal H. Moritz, who had produced the two previous installments, began working on the film in 2005. On June 8, 2005, Moritz hired Justin Lin to direct The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.Justin Lin Will Direct "The Fast and the Furious 3" Lin, who wasn't intimately familiar with drifting when he was approached to helm the project, recalled: "I was in film school when The Fast and the Furious came out, and I saw it along with a sold-out crowd who just ate it up. What really excited me about directing this film was the chance to harness that energy—create a whole new chapter and up the ante by bringing something new to the table for the audience who loves action and speed." Vin Diesel agreed to make his cameo in the film in exchange for Universal's ownership to rights of the and character, in lieu of financial payment.Vin Diesel's Shrewd Move: Trading 'Fast & Furious' Cameo to Own 'Riddick' Rights Car Construction The motor found in the , which powered the Mustang in the film, has been subject to much criticism by automotive enthusiasts. The criticism grew when it was revealed that the car itself barely had any screen time, and regular stunt Mustangs used for the drifting scenes were powered by 351 engines.Hot Rod Magazine "Build Fast. Fabricate Furiously." By John Pearley Huffman July 2006 Pg. 56-64 lamented the possibility that tuners might swap in Japanese motors into American cars. According to , one Mustang received the RB26 swap, while five other Mustangs were created for drifting purposes of which two were destroyed in the process.Sport Compact Car "Tokyo Drift by the Numbers" By John Pearley Huffman July 2006 Pg. 92 In addition, the RB26 Mustang was shown to be faster than its V8 powered kin, with times of 0-60 in 5.38 seconds, and the quarter mile in 13.36 seconds at 109.83 MPH.Sport Compact Car "Ford Mustang GT-R; Pony with a Skyline's Heart" By John Pearley Huffman July 2006 Pg. 84-86 The which Black's character trashes in his first race in Japan is depicted as having an which itself is donated to the Mustang. However, the car used was actually powered by the S15's base engine."IGN Cars: The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift Car of the Day: Han's S15." IGN Cars Accessed June 19, 2006 The Fortune body-kitted driven by Sung Kang's character was originally built by Veilside for the 2005 Tokyo Auto Salon but was later bought by Universal and repainted (the original was dark red, not orange and black like in the film)."IGN Cars: The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift Car of the Day: VeilSide RX-7." IGN Cars Accessed June 19, 2006 SCC tested the cars of the film, and noted that the cars in Tokyo Drift were slightly faster in an acceleration match up with the cars from 2 Fast 2 Furious.Sport Compact Car "Fast, Furious, & Drifting" By John Pearley Huffman July 2006 Pg. 56-92 Notable personalities Keiichi Tsuchiya, , and were consulted and employed by the movie to provide and execute the drifting and driving stunts in the film.IGN: The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift Video 1535879 , , , and were also brought in when it was revealed that none of Universal's own stunt drivers could drift.Wong, Jonathan. "Interrogation Room: What up, Toshi?" , September 2006, pg. 116Some racing events were filmed within the parking lot in Los Angeles. Edmund's Article Toshi Hayama was also brought in to keep elements of the film portrayed correctly after being contacted by , an old high school friend that starred in Justin Lin's Better Luck Tomorrow, the organizers of the Japanese series, and his former boss at A'PEXi. Among them are keeping certain references in check (the usage of nitrous oxide in straights but not in turns, keeping the usage of references from sponsors to a minimum, etc.).Interrogation Room: What up, Toshi? by Jonathan Wong September 2006, pgs. 144-118 Hayama also claims that a prop car was "stolen" by some of the action stars and taken for an impromptu "Drift Session" and never returned by the stars. Marketing Music Various Artists Original Score The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (score) Music Videos Don Omar Conteo Tokyo Drift Musical Video At least two music videos were produced for the promotion of The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. 's "Round Round and Don Omar's "Canteo". "Canteo" marked beginning of the artists relationship with The Fast and the Furious franchise. Home Video Release The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (DVD) Critical Reception Despite mixed reviews, Tokyo Drift brought in over $24 million on its opening weekend. The movie itself was in limited release in Japan (released under the name Wild Speed 3). As of January 28, 2007, the domestic box office take has totaled $62,514,415 with another $95,886,987 from the foreign box office, resulting in total receipts of $158,401,402.The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) Tokyo Drift did, however, gross lower than its predecessor films. The film holds a rating of 34% on The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift reviews, Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 46 out of 100 on The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift reviews, Metacritic. of the praised the film, giving it three stars (out of four), saying that director Justin Lin "takes an established franchise and makes it surprisingly fresh and intriguing," adding that Tokyo Drift is "more observant than we expect" and that "the story is about something more than fast cars.""[http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060615/REVIEWS/60606006/1023 Review: The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift Review], Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times, June 16, 2006 of the felt that "the opening half-hour may prove to be a disreputable classic of pedal-to-the-metal filmmaking."Review by Michael Sragow, Baltimore Sun Kirk Honeycutt of said that "it's not much of a movie, but a hell of a ride."[Review by Kirk Honeycutt, The Hollywood Reporter gave Tokyo Drift one and a half stars (out of four) saying: "There’s no discernible plot ... or emotion or humor."Review, Michael Medved, MichaelMedved.com, 21 June 2006 from Reel Views also gave it one and a half stars out of four, saying: "I expect a racing film to be derivative. That goes with the territory. No one is seeing a Fast and the Furious movie for the plot. When it comes to eye candy, the film is on solid ground—it offers plenty of babes and cars (with the latter being more lovingly photographed than the former). However, it is unacceptable that the movie's action scenes (races and chases) are boring and incoherent. If the movie can't deliver on its most important asset, what's the point?"Review, James Berardinelli, Reel Views strongly criticized of the film, saying: "The whole thing is preposterous. The acting is so awful, some of the worst performances I’ve seen in a long, long time."Review, Richard Roper, rottentomatoes.com, July 18, 2006 Similarly, of said that Tokyo Drift "suffers from blurred vision, motor drag and a plot that's running on fumes. Look out for a star cameo—it’s the only surprise you'll get from this heap."Review, Peter Travers, Rolling Stone of the said: "main character has no plan and no direction, just a blind desire to smash up automobiles and steal a mobster's girlfriend. ... As for the racing scenes, who cares about the finesse move of drifting, compared to going fast? And who wants to watch guys race in a parking lot? For that matter, who wants to watch guys race down a mountain, with lots of turns?"Review Sequel Trivia *Drift driver Rhys Millen can be seen talking to a Japanese couple during the transition from America to Japan. *Ben Sinclair makes a brief appearance as the famous drifting champion Quinn Jackson. Sean has a short conversation with Ben, whose wisdom helps inspire him to keep trying to make it in the Tokyo underground. *''Tokyo Drift'' is the lowest grossing film in the The Fast and the Furious Franchise.25 fascinating facts about the Fast & Furious films *''Tokyo Drift'' is the first film in the franchise not to feature Paul Walker, followed by Los Bandoleros in 2009. *Over one hundred cars and two thousand tyres were destroyed during the production of Tokyo Drift. *Chronologically, Tokyo Drift is the last film in the franchise, coming before Furious 7. *The Japanese title for Tokyo Drift, "Wild Speed" was featured on the posters during the promotion of the film in Japan. *Vin Diesel's cameo was not originally planned as the end of the film. It was shot after production of the film had been completed. Videos Trailers The Fast And The Furious Tokyo Drift - Trailer (HD) Clips Interviews Featurettes The Fast And The Furious Tokyo Drift Behind The Scenes The Fast and the Furious Tokyo Drift Behind the Scenes - The Drifter (2006) - Racing Movie HD The Fast and the Furious Tokyo Drift Behind the Scenes - Life on Set (2006) - Racing Movie HD The Fast and The Furious Tokyo Drift - Drift School Fast and the Furious Toyko Drift The Real Drift King FAST AND FURIOUS TOKYO DRIFT - BEHIND THE SCENES Tokyo Drift - Behind the Scenes with Fifth Gear Fast and the Furious Toyko Drift The Big BreakDown Hans last drive Fast and the Furious Tokyo Drift First Look Gallery Posters 1331343002 The-Fast-and-the-Furious-Tokyo-Drift-2006.jpg|Banner poster for Tokyo Drift Tokoy_Drift_Poster-01.jpg|Theatrical Tokyo Drift poster advertising text message code Fast_and_the_furious_tokyo_drift_ver2.jpg|Japanese poster for Tokyo Drift Official Stills Behind the Scenes F3_BTS-01.png F3_BTS-02.jpg Justin_Lin_(BTS)-01.jpg Justin_Lin_(BTS)-02.jpg Notes References }} Category:Films Category:Tokyo Drift